More than 70 passengers were hurt last week when the Seastreak ferry with hundreds of New Jersey commuters on board hit a pier in New YorkJohn Munson/The Star-Ledger

The Seastreak Wall Street, which slammed hard into a New York pier last week, was valued at $7.6 million. And if its owners are successful, that would be the total amount of liability they would face in any personal injury lawsuits likely to be filed by passengers injured in the accident.

Seastreak LLC sought the protection in federal court in Newark today, in a petition also requesting that all claims against the company be consolidated in one venue.

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, said yesterday that it found damage to the ferry’s port propeller. It did not indicate whether the damage contributed to the crash, or resulted from it.

Investigators said they also tested the ferry’s steering systems on Friday and found no problems.

The Seastreak Wall Street, a high-speed catamaran that provides regular commuter service between New Jersey and lower Manhattan, had been on its second run of the morning on Jan. 9 when something went wrong.

Traveling from Highlands in Monmouth County to New York with 326 people on board, the boat passed the Statue of Liberty and made what seemed to be a routine approach to Pier 11, before it suddenly slammed into a concrete slip.

Many people, waiting on stairways to disembark, were thrown forward by the impact. About 70 passengers were injured, 11 of them seriously. The captain, in interviews with the NTSB, said the ferry’s controls and engines failed as he tried to dock.

Video: Passengers give firsthand accounts of ferry accidentA Seastreak Wall Street ferry crashed into a mooring and injured 57 passengers at Pier 11 near Wall Street in Manhattan shortly before 8:45 a.m. Two of the less seriously injured passengers give their firsthand accounts of the incident. Video by John Munson/The Star-Ledger

Records show the 140-foot boat, which entered service in September 2003, underwent a major refit last summer. Its jet drive propulsion system was replaced with new engines, rudders and variable pitch propellers. The modifications reduced the vessel’s overall weight and reduced its top speed from 38 knots to 35 knots, but increased its fuel economy and lowered its cost of operation.

The NTSB said today its investigators interviewed the U.S. Coast Guard personnel who inspected the ferry in July 2012 after the modifications were completed. It noted the modifications were found to be satisfactory and the vessel was given a temporary certificate of inspection.

In today's update, the NTSB said the manufacturer of the ferry’s engines was able to download alarm and other data stored on computer control modules in each of the two engine compartments for analysis. Investigators also retrieved video from several onboard cameras, which is being examined.

An underwater survey of the vessel revealed the damage to the port propeller. A more complete hull survey will be conducted when the boat is hauled from the water for repairs. The NTSB said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will also conduct a bottom survey of the approach to Pier 11, to determine if there are any underwater approach obstructions.

Thomas Wynne, a spokesman for Seastreak, said the company began receiving letters from attorneys representing several passengers as soon as the day of the accident, indicating they planned to file for damages.

“That’s understandable. There were more than 300 passengers and some of them were hurt,” he said.

The filing in U.S. District Court, he said, was made to create a single proceeding for any claims that are filed.

“It’s our intention to deal directly with passengers where we can, but this filing allows us to consolidate all the proceedings that will end in litigation,” Wynne said.

The filing, though, also sought a so-called “limitation of liability.”

It petitioned the court for exoneration from any liability from injuries sustained by passengers, while claiming that damages actually awarded against the company through litigation be limited to the value of the ferry at the time of the accident. That value, in the filing, was set at $7.6 million.

Experts in maritime law say such petitions are common. The law allows shipowners who may be facing hundreds of lawsuits to petition the court for a consolidation order, bringing everyone into a single forum, while setting a deadline for anyone to file claims, said attorney Ronald Betancourt of Betancourt, Van Hemmen, Greco & Kenyon in Red Bank.

“It is a preemptive strike,” he said.

But the statute, which dates back to the 1800s, wsa originally meant to protect shipowners during the age of sail. It limits a ship owner’s liability in an accident to the value of the vessel at the end of the voyage — but only if it can be shown that the incident happened without the knowledge of the owner.

“They got a valuation certificate the moment after the ferry was damaged,” Betancourt said.

Wynne could not comment on the accident investigation, but said Seastreak continues to reach out to passengers who were on the ferry at the time of the accident.